Is awesome.

It is referenced in the Vanity Fair article linked below.

“The design of the new Central Chinese Television (CCTV) headquarters defies the popular conception of a skyscraper — and it broke Beijing’s building codes and required approval by a special review panel. The standard systems for engineering gravity and lateral loads in buildings didn’t apply to the CCTV building, which is formed by two leaning towers, each bent 90 degrees at the top and bottom to form a continuous loop.

The engineer’s solution is to create a structural “tube” of diagonal supports. The irregular pattern of this “diagrid” system reflects the distribution of forces across the tube’s surface. Designed by Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren and engineered by Ove Arup, the new CCTV tower rethinks what a skyscraper can be.”

This is amazing.  Modern and postmodern, form follows function, but you can literally see the forces on the building.  I am completely enthralled with this thing.  The irregular grid on the building’s facades is an expression of the forces traveling throughout its structure. I like the word expression.

The other cool aspect–as the author in the VF article pointed out, there is a slight nod to communism– is how in this skyscraper the relationship between individuals is completely different.  Unlike a traditional skyscraper, in which you can usually not see any other part of the building, the CCTV tower gives its denizens a sense of their surroundings, of the building itself and of the other people with which they are working.  The architecture creates a relationship among those within, as opposed to a verticle stack of disconnectness.

The architects also mentioned how the building is not overwhelming.  It can be broken down into three distinct building which are easily visually digestable, and b/c it is only 47 stories the viewer does not have to crane to see to the top.

China: Figuring their shit out.  more pics